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**Weber out, Knee Surgery** Canadiens Quiet Canada Day Signals Change

July 3, 2018, 12:54 PM ET [516 Comments]
Brandon Smillie
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
*** JULY 5, 2018 UPDATE***

The Canadiens revealed that Shea Weber will miss the next 6 months after knee surgery.....



Well.... I really don't have much to say about this except...

via GIPHY



I'm just going to put my head in my hands for a while and breathe....

***END UPDATE***


The Montreal Canadiens front office are committing to their youth movement in a big way by not signing a single big ticket UFA on July 1st. They didn’t lock themselves into an expensive contract (Montreal is a team that MUST overpay due to tax/media circus) and instead focused on cheaper, younger UFA’s that might were either roster casualties, unqualified RFA’s, and one very loyal veteran.

Some would say this is a sign of the changing times. I agree to an extent, but after hearing Marc Bergevin state that when he asked some big name UFA camps if they would like to play in Montreal he was flat out told “No”.

Two players that told the Canadiens “Thanks, but no thanks” were top UFA centers John Tavares (who made his childhood dreams come true by taking his talents to TO) and Paul Stastny (who signed a $6.5 million, 3 year deal in Vegas). While I won’t lose sleep losing out on Stastny it will be a tougher Atlantic Division this year with the addition of Tavares to an already potent Toronto squad.

So while I like seeing the Canadiens take a calmer approach to UFA day and not handcuffing themselves with some bad deals it’s disheartening to know that higher skilled players don’t want to come to Montreal to continue their NHL careers. In this regard it has forced Montreal’s hand into taking a youthful, patient approach to the team instead of grabbing quick fixes.

I still would have liked to see De Haan join the Habs to help out the left side though…




If this tells us Habs fans anything, it should be that we should appreciate the players that willingly stay with the Habs. Players like Carey Price who stated he never wanted to play anywhere else, a quality that isn’t shared amongst some of his elite NHLPA peers. We need to appreciate players like Shea Weber who came to Montreal without any griping and continued to play at elite levels. Although it’s likely that Captain Max Pacioretty will be traded, it won’t be because he can’t stand MTL and whatnot. It will simply be a difficult business decision that will only happen if Montreal gets a quality package of picks and prospects to help move the team along the Reset/Retool/Rebuild road.

Appreciate those that want to wear the CH folks because it appears that the allure is fading and I don’t buy the “It’s all Bergy’s fault!” storyline either. Sure, he dealt 2nd rounders when the Habs were competing for playoffs in hopes of long runs, he tried to add players to help the cause virtually every off season and some worked and some didn’t with the worst of the scenarios being last summer when he lost out on both Markov and Radulov and made desperation signings of Streit and Hemsky.

Virtually nobody was complaining when we were adding Radulov from the KHL or when he stole a still useful (although apparently gambling debt ridden) Vanek for a 2nd and bust S Collberg.

You have to take the good with the bad and no GM is perfect. Most bounce around teams for years before finding success. Some even stick with the same team forever before finding success (Poile).

There is an issue in MTL and it doesn’t all land squarely on team management. Some does, but not all. Maybe if we and the media can turn our attitudes around and become a bit more supportive instead of incredibly critical it would be a good start. Perhaps if the media could pull less stories about players personal lives out of their asses it would change the appearance of the market?

Be the change you want to see in the world said some religious guy somewhere, it’s a pretty good saying if you ask me…





SO….. WHAT DID MONTREAL DO SMILES?

I’m glad you asked.

The Habs first and foremost brought back sleep cell Tomas Plekanec who almost wrecked his mission by being one of the few Maple Leafs to actually be useful in the playoffs.

Plekanec returns on a 1 year deal worth up to $3.5 million after bonuses, $2.25 cap hit. The Habs gave Plekanec the chance to return for his 1000th NHL game and then in November against the Calgary Flames we could see his 1000th game as a Montreal Canadien.

I have zero issue with the signing of a player who wants to be here as it’s clear many others don’t. The money has no bearing on this at all considering Molson’s beer money isn’t good to some anyways, so the contract money is really inconsequential. Good to have a C back who can play defense and appreciates the team and its fans.

After Tommy P the Canadiens brought in a few unqualified RFA’s. They signed a one year deal with 26 year old LW Kenny Agostino ($700k) who has been a PPG AHL player in the last 2 seasons but has only seen 22 NHL games over the last 5 seasons with 2 G and 4 A to show for it. Clearly an AHL depth move, but it appears Agostino has some skills so a call up is definitely on his radar. He has good size as well at 6’0” and 203 lbs.

The Canadiens brought in Montreal born UFA C Michael Chaput on a 2 year, 2 way contract worth $675k at the NHL level. The 6’2” 205 lbs forwards is almost identical in description to Agostino. Fantastic AHL points, minimal NHL success. In 135 NHL games he has scored 6 G and 11 A, compared to 301 AHL games where he has 77 G and 121 A. Another move that’s going to impact Laval more than it will Montreal.

Bergevin continued bringing in French players with the signing of 24 year old, 6’1”, 185 lbs left shooting defenseman Xavier Ouellet. The deal is for 1 year on a two way contract worth $700k at the NHL level.

Ouellet comes from the Red Wings organization who typically develops very well, which is why I’m a bit leery about them letting him walk. Regardless, it’s more AHL depth at worst and with only 141 NHL games under his belt it’s a chance to continue development at best. It usually takes 250-300 NHL games to really see what a team has in a D man so the Habs might give him a chance to prove his NHL worth over the next season.

The last signing I will mention is a bit of a puzzler, not in that the player is terrible or anything along those lines, it’s because the player has minimal NHL experience and was anded a 2 year deal worth $1.3 million per season.

The player is 25 year old,, left shooting, 5’9”, 174 lbs Center Matthew Peca, formerly of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. Peca was given an NHL contract for 20 NHL games worth of experience where he has put up 3 G and 7 A. Now I know Tampa is stacked up front and there is no room for all the great players in their system, so much so they will likely have to deal a quality player soon, but I admit to having never thought of Peca as a big part of that.

But there must be something the Habs scouts saw in Syracuse that made them want the small Center and his AHL numbers aren’t terrible either at 34 G 100 A in 204 games. Peca will be on the roster next season. Either way, it’s only a 2 year deal and the Canadiens have plenty of cap space anyways so let’s see what the guy can do right?




That wrapped up July 1st (and 2nd) for the Canadiens and with some social media accounts reporting that De Haan is almost ready to sign elsewhere it seems this is it. The retool is on and the Canadiens at least avoided spending too much for too little this offseason instead adding undrafted junior players who are late bloomers and other teams younger cast offs.

Rumors continue to swirl around what the Canadiens will do with Pacioretty, but at this point it seems no one wants to pay the price for the scorer so it’s entirely possible the Captain returns, which is fine as well.

The Canadiens let the Winnipeg Jets off the hook of the horrible contract of Steve Mason’s for scraps in bottom 6 F Joel Armia, a 4th round pick, and 7th round pick at the cost of defenseman Simon Bourque. While some say “Hey, we got Armia, a 4th and 7th for a minor league D! Great work!” I simply didn’t like that the Habs could get more for letting a very competitive Jets team off the hook of a horrible contract. Teams that need help should be paying higher picks for that help and while I was told on Twitter about how good Armia is, I just don’t share the same enthusiasm for the player.

I’m even less enthused by the fact that Habs had to buy out Mason and killing $1.3 million in space for two seasons and Armia still hasn’t signed a contract. As of today the Canadiens dealt Bourque and over $5 million of cap relief to a Cup contender for a 4th and 7th round pick, and dead cap space for 2 seasons. Most lauded this deal for Bergevin, which I do understand if you look at it as Bourque for a couple picks and a bottom lines player, but I’m of the opinion that teams that need that much relief need to pay more, especially when you end up buying out the deal and leaving yourself holding the bags for a couple seasons….

That’s an unpopular opinion, from what I’ve been told, but it is mine nonetheless. Chevy should have paid more for cap help….

With that I’ll end this wrap up by saying I do believe in what the Canadiens are doing and if Price returns to form he will carry this team to a Wild Card battle almost single-handily. Should the team struggle at the same rate as this past season then they will have a fantastic shot at generational talent Jack Hughes, or one of the other top C’s available next draft, and in doing so should fix the Center issue completely. Especially considering the draft they just had where they landed centers Kotkaniemi, Olofsson (who really impressed at development camp), Allan McShane and Cam Hillis. Add them to a good group of C prospects in Poehling, Evans, Alain, Bitten, Verbeek, and Ikonen and you see that the Canadiens are finally focusing on the right position.

You can make almost any center play wing, but not the other way around so it makes all the sense in the world to do what they’ve done this offseason. It’s a sign that the organization is doing the right work now considering attracting UFA’s at C is impossible for Montreal. Develop our own and work to establish some sense of loyalty at best and at worst show them the quality of the Montreal Canadiens brand. Show them the top notch facilities and crew. Let them develop together and build relationships with each other as they develop that will make them want to win together and win in Montreal.




The Habs had a disappointing 2017 offseason followed by an under achieving, injury filled season. This offseason has been remarkably better and at least shows the organization is understanding the direction they need to take first and foremost and that’s drafting and development.

From firings, hiring, signings, and drafting this offseason has actually been very positive so far for the Habs, for the most part. Let’s make sure we see that through the negativity and we remind our fellow fans that this is the right thing to do and that there is a lot to look forward to.

You never know, Kotkaniemi, Poehling, Evans, Bitten, or Alain could come into camp and force their way onto the team at C. There is definitely an opportunity to be had, just have to see who wants it more and there will be plenty of competition.

Go Habs Go.

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